Tether

The Tether project was initiated in 2015 by the Bitfinex exchange. The main goal was the exchange of real dollars for digital currency avoiding bureaucratic difficulties in bidding, as well as barriers and bans on converting fiat to cryptocurrency. Then, the "digital dollar" was listed by the largest cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex. Traders were advised to use this option as a simplified way to switch from electronic fiat currency to digital money. Many currencies began to trade in pairs with the digital dollar.

The Tether platform is based on the Bitcoin blockchain using the Mastercoin / Omni algorithm and has all the basic characteristics of cryptocurrency. However, its implementation is controversial among users and analysts. The project provides an opportunity to convert any national fiat currency into a digital analogue at the 1:1 ratio. The exchange marker of the selected currency will receive the letter T added at the end. Users will eventually be able to quickly enter real fiat money into trading with digital currencies.

Blockchain has numerous advantages over traditional financial technologies, as it offers cheap, fast and unlimited transactions without intermediaries. However, the volatility of blockchain-based currencies’ exchange rates does not allow them to become widespread. Tether combines the technology of bitcoin with fiat currencies, which allows one to take advantage of blockchain, using a currency backed by the US Treasury or the European Central Bank. According to Reeve Collin, the project’s CEO, Tether converts the dollar into digital form and transfers this digital dollar to the blockchain.

The Tether platform allows one to convert the US dollar, euro or Japanese yen into the corresponding Tether tokens. Tether coins are 100% backed up with fiat currencies on the accounts of the company, which remain completely transparent and audited to guarantee full compliance with the declared reserves. Tether can be exchanged for the respective currencies using the platform at any time.

Tether uses the mastercoin / omni protocol to create tokens. Thanks to Omni, Tether transactions are hashed and passed through Bitcoin blockchain, where they are checked by Bitcoin-miners along with other transactions. Transfers between Tether wallets are completely free.

For many ideological fans of Bitcoin Tether is too similar to a fiat currency –  and not because of its link to the dollar. Tether is also centralized, requires permission to use and depends on the users' trust in an organization – which is the opposite to the principles on which bitcoin is based.